Apple CEO: 'We don't ship AI for AI's sake'
Original: Apple CEO says the company doesn’t ‘want to ship AI for AI’s sake’
Why This Matters
Apple's deliberate AI pace shapes how 1B+ device users experience the technology.
Apple CEO John Ternus told Wired's Steven Levy that Apple will 'absolutely leverage AI' but won't ship it for its own sake, defending the company's measured approach after years of criticism for lagging behind rivals.
In an interview with Wired's Steven Levy, Apple CEO John Ternus — who officially took the top job in September — pushed back on the narrative that Apple is behind on AI. He acknowledged that 'everyone has an opinion' but said 'I really like where we're at.' Apple has faced persistent criticism over AI delays, most notably the long-awaited upgrade to Siri, which finally launched this past summer. Ternus framed Apple's approach around user experience rather than feature velocity: 'We don't want to ship AI for AI's sake. When we're doing it right, people won't have to think about whether it was AI that made this happen or more traditional software. What matters is, did we build something that they really love?' When Levy raised the possibility of AI agents making apps obsolete, Ternus didn't sound alarmed. 'That could make life really easy, I suppose,' he said, 'but the creation of products is a deeply human and personal thing, something that we love to do.'